Children in Need raise £47.9m with the help of Doctor Who and Strictly stars
Jodie Whittaker joined stars including Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and the Strictly judges during the five-hour telethon
The 2019 Children in Need TV appeal has raised over £47.9m with the help of stars from shows including Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing and Eastenders.
The five-hour telethon – hosted by Mel Giedroyc, Tom Allen, Graham Norton, Ade Adepitan, Tess Daly and Marvin and Rochelle Humes – also featured players from the England national football team and performances from Louis Tomlinson and Westlife.
EastEnders stars swapping Albert Square for the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom included Ricky Champ (Stuart Highway), Louisa Lytton (Ruby Allen), Maisie Smith (Tiffany Butcher) and Rudolph Walker (Patrick Trueman).
Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker materialised on the Children in Need stage with companions Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole to surprise a young fan.
Star Wars actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega also took part in the fundraiser, challenging YouTuber Colin Furze to build a real-life land speeder.
The telethon also included a star-studded version of BBC1 quiz show The Hit List, featuring Girls Aloud's Nadine Coyle, Liberty X star Michelle Heaton, Blue's Antony Costa, and former JLS singer JB Gill.
England footballers Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling were also seen surprising children from the England Amputee Football Association.
Earlier this week, Rylan Clark-Neal had already raised more than £1m for Children in Need with his 24-hour karaoke marathon on BBC Radio 2.
In 2018, £50.6m was raised during the TV appeal.
Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.